Project Timeline

2017

Great Lakes has constructed a subline near White Street and began pumping on July 3rd. They are currently pumping from White St, southward.

The active construction area is between 3719 and 3637 N Virginia Dare Trail. There is also some equipment being stored between 3612 N Virginia Dare Trail and Tateway Road. The portion of the beach from Tateway Road to the Kill Devil Hills line is open and pumping operations are complete. Piping does remain on the beach with sand walkovers.

Great Lakes is currently approximately 500 feet south of the KDH/KH town line. They plan on pumping into Kitty Hawk from the current subline at Helga Street.

As a result, a portion of Kitty Hawk’s beach, South of East Sibbern Street is closed.

The contractor is estimating that they will pump between 1,000 and 2,000 feet into Kitty Hawk which could put them as far as White Street. The remaining portions of Kitty Hawk would be constructed once KDH is complete.

The exact distance will be determined by their efficiency as they continue to pump north but at this time they are estimating between 1,000 and 2,000 feet into Kitty Hawk.

There has been a change in the beach nourishment schedule for the Towns of Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills. Great Lakes Dock and Dredge (GLDD), the beach nourishment contractor, will begin nourishment dredging in Kill Devil Hills in late June or early July. Completion of the Kill Devil Hills project is now anticipated to be in mid-August. The Kitty Hawk Project time frame is to be determined.

The overall nourishment project began in Duck in May, and GLDD has been operating three dredges to pump sand onto the beaches. Originally, two of the three were to be relocated to another area away from the Outer Banks during the month of June. GLDD now anticipates that the Dodge and Padre Island Dredges will be available to stay on the Outer Banks until early to mid-July. In order to maximize the production of these to dredges, they will construct the portion of the project closest to the offshore borrow area, which is Kill Devil Hills.

The bid package for the overall beach nourishment project, Duck/Southern Shores/Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills, did not specific the order in which construction would proceed to allow Dare County the ability to maximize cost savings that could be achieved through scheduling flexibility.

GLDD will begin mobilizing in Kill Devil Hills immediately to prepare for dredging anticipated to begin in the coming weeks. The company intends on landing a subline, which is a large steel pipe that leads out to the dredge from onshore, in Kill Devil Hills sometime early next week. The Helga Street beach access remains GLDD’s staging site for the Kill Devil Hills’ project.

The Town of Kitty Hawk, along with the project contractors and engineers will be hosting an informational meeting on the upcoming Beach Nourishment project Wednesday, February 15, 2017 at 9:00 am. The meeting will include a presentation and question and answer session.

The meeting will be held in the Smith Room at Kitty Hawk Town Hall. This meeting is open to the public and all interested parties are welcome to attend.

The contractor for the Town of Kitty Hawk Beach Nourishment Project, has recently provided an updated, tentative schedule for the beach nourishment work. The construction for Kitty Hawk, originally scheduled for the beginning of June through the end of August, is now projected to begin mid-June and continue through mid-August. Activities to prepare for the project, including laying subline and assembling land based machinery, will begin approximately one month prior to construction.

Please keep in mind that weather and equipment failures may cause breaks in work and delays.

During construction a current project status map will be available at www.MoreBeachtoLove.com with updates on current construction areas and anticipated progress of work.

Public Meeting ON BEACH NOURISHMENT Project

The Town of Kitty Hawk, along with the project contractors and engineers will be hosting an informational meeting on the upcoming Beach Nourishment project Wednesday, February 15, 2017 at 9:00 am. The meeting will include a presentation and question and answer session.

The meeting will be held in the Smith Room at Kitty Hawk Town Hall. This meeting is open to the public and all interested parties are welcome to attend.

2016

A contract agreement with Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company, LLC is completed, contingent on receiving North Carolina Local Government Commission Approval prior to July 10, 2016. Contract documents can be found by following the link below:

At a special meeting held March 17, the Dare County Board of Commissioners accepted the bid from Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company for the beach nourishment project that encompasses the Town of Duck, Town of Kitty Hawk, and Town of Kill Devil Hills. The award is contingent on approval from the Local Government Commission. The bid from Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company totaled $38,596,850 and is approximately $4.9 million under budget. Work is scheduled to being in April 2017. As plans progress, the Town of Duck, Town of Kitty Hawk and Town of Kill Devil Hills will provide information about plans for construction.

Town Council held a special meeting February 24 to discuss the Beach Nourishment Project. Council voted to move forward with the Beach Nourishment Project and participate in the re-bid process along with Duck, and Kill Devil Hills.

Bids for the Duck, Kill Devil Hills and Kitty Hawk Beach Nourishment Project were received on February 9, 2016. Bids were provided by three contractors and all three bids exceeded the funding available for the project.

In addition, the bids indicated that all three contractors anticipated commencing work on the majority of the project in the early spring of 2017. As a result, the Request for Bids on the Duck, Kill Devil Hills and Kitty Hawk Beach Nourishment Project will be re-issued in early March 2016 and due at the end of the month. Once these bids are received and analyzed additional information will be provided.

There will not be a Beach Nourishment project on the Outer Banks in the Spring or Summer of 2016.

How does this delay effect the property tax increase that has already been levied?

Even though the actual construction of the project will begin later than anticipated, the Towns and County have already completed and paid for the preliminary pre-construction process and are committed to entering into a contract for construction by the end of June 2016. A portion of the tax dollars collected so far for the project has been used for this preliminary work and the remainder will be used for pending construction of the project.

2015

Preparation for the Town’s Beach Nourishment project is ongoing. This summer, the Town sent out 275 easement agreements, which allow construction and maintenance related to Beach Nourishment activities on private property. To date 215 signed easement documents have been returned and the Town is working with property owners to have one hundred percent of the documents returned.

The Town has also recently received the CAMA permit from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s division of Coastal Management for the project. Bid documents for the project have been reviewed by the involved Towns and Dare County and a pre-bid construction meeting with potential contractors is scheduled for December 15th. We hope to have bids returned by the end of January and award the bid by the end of March. Awarding the bid is contingent on successful financing and approval from the Local Government Commission (LGC).

Once the bid is awarded and proper financing and approvals are obtained, the project is tentatively scheduled to begin in late April or beginning of May

Council approves 2015-16 budget, which includes property tax increase to fund the Town’s portion of Beach Nourishment.

The current property tax rate of 32 cents per $100 valuation was increased to 34 cents town wide with an additional 12 cents increase within the beach nourishment municipal service district per $100 of property valuation. The property tax base is estimated by the Dare County Tax Office to be $1,089,352,704 andis anticipated to produce $4,147,079 in revenue based on a 99 of all General Fund Revenues.

Council approves an agreement for Parker Adams & Bernstein LLP to serve as bond counsel for financing beach nourishment. The firm currently serves Dare County and will serve as bond counsel to the Towns of Duck and Kill Devil Hills. Parker Poe will perform the customary legal services as bond counsel, including, but not limited to, drafting the financing documents, tax certificate and other customary closing documentation and delivering customary legal opinions at closing. They will also draft the Interlocal Agreement.

A capital project ordinance is adopted to cover all expenditures expected to be needed to complete the project. It will help to determine how much the project costs and the amount spent to date. This ordinance may be amended as needed. It is necessary to adopt this now to ensure outstanding encumbrances related to the Beach Nourishment project as of June 30, 2015 will be reflected in the Capital Project financial statements.

Informational packets including proposed Municipal Service Districts Map and proposed tax rates are sent to every property owner in the Town. Sample documents are below.

Frequently Asked Questions and Answers from Mayor, Gary Perry

Provide additional clarification of nourishment cost increases above those originally discussed when the project was first publicly discussed. In addition to quantity of sand due to beach slope and water depth, other factors include things such as planning for annual maintenance to meet regulatory monitoring and future re-nourishment in order to be eligible for FEMA assistance in the event of damage prior to the end of a five year life cycle when normal re-nourishment would be expected.

Will the County contribution increase with the additional cost projected for this project? In fact all of the increase in nourishment cost above what was originally projected for Kitty Hawk has been absorbed into the county wide beach nourishment occupancy tax. The Town has not been tasked with any increase in shared cost or debt service beyond that originally proposed.

Rationalize the two cent additional tax currently collected for storm damage reduction that will be removed from the base rate and moved into the MSD rates. That increase was necessary to ensure funds for the aforementioned items and similar issues could be paid for. Council put that money into a special fund titled storm damage reduction so any money not used directly involved with the nourishment project could be used for other projects such as flood pump out pipes, as an example. That said, money put into that account could be used by following councils for anything they chose to do. By eliminating that two cent”unrestricted” tax increase and shifting it into an MSD “restricted” account, future councils cannot use that tax increase for anything except to pay for the proposed nourishment project.

What was the formula used for determining MSD (A) rate versus MSD (B) rate? There is no special formula. Council used the NC General Assembly wording to define special service districts within their borders and to levy additional taxes in those areas to provide services or facilities that are not offered throughout the unit or that are offered at a lower level in the rest of the unit. This is consistent with what the other Towns are doing. Council members have discussed this question with many non-beach property owners and found most would rather not have to deal with the cost of doing a project but understand that not doing something has an impact upon work, commute and quality of life in the community. Conversely, many beach property owners were present or represented at the initial forum on October 2013 and were vocal in a desire to pursue a nourishment project.

The higher tax rate proposed for MSD (a) is discriminatory and unfair because there would be not Town if not for the beach. The rest of council has not been consulted for this answer and should not be held accountable for the response. This is entirely my answer to the questions. For 100 plus years the village known as Kitty Hawk has existed without the beach being of absolute importance. Before intense development of the section east of what is now NC 158 the village of Kitty Hawk thrived. The beach area was used for subsistence, some recreation and later for life saving of seafaring men and women. There is no property owner alive today that could not have known, or certainly should have known, the hazards of building, along with the reward of living on the low lying beach strand. People that chose not to live in that flood prone hazard should not have to pay the full cost of protecting those whom knowingly chose to build there.

Is the Town planning to put toll booths at beach access or will parking meters be added for non-beach property owners? The current council has no plan to install toll booths or parking meters anywhere in Town. Access to Kitty Hawk beach areas will remain free the same way non-beach areas remain open to public access.

A third MSD should be added since the houses and losts east of NC 12 will realize an expanded lifespan with several spaces having sufficient “dry sand” square footage to support new structures. Places where publicly funded sand is placed on a lot does not permit building or expanding structures based on the new sand adding to square footage. While sand placed on a private lot, via easement, remains in private ownership, the owner is not allowed to change by human or mechanical means that portion of new sand. If nature moves by wind or wave, the sand anywhere else on the property, then the owner can use that material, within CAMA limitation, to his or her advantage. CAMA regulations have told officials that no new or expanded building can be placed east of NC 12 in Kitty Hawk. That restriction is not expected to change as a result of pumping sand on our beach.

The oceanfront homes east of NC 12 should pay more since they really gain more than anyone else. One penny per hundred of the current evaluation for oceanfront property east of NC 12 from Town boundary to boundary accounts for approximately $5,000 per year. The Hilton is included in that figure. The substantial MSD rate those homes and the Hilton would have to pay in order to make a reasonable contribution could be considered usurious and still insufficient to the total funding required.

Comment: Nourishment of the beach will impose additional requirements on property owners with regard to public access, sand fencing, beach pushing or similar issues.

The comment is correct. Council will be required ti issues restrictions against removing sand fencing or beach pushing from nourished area. Dune cut-thrus cannot be permitted. Public access to a publicly funded beach is acknowledged. Access to that nourished beach via private property is not permitted without the express approval of the property owner. Public access will be via public access points already established or those yet to be constructed.

The Town receptionist receive a call from a man stating he wanted to get married in Kitty Hawk, on the beach and could he expect us to have a beach? We hope that Love is strong, patient and will endure until at least the year 2016.

2014

ANSWER: NO,THE 60 FOOT BEACH BERM WIDTH IS THE PROJECTED WIDTH REMAINING AFTER 5 YEARS. THE BEGINNING WIDTH WILL BE IN EXCESS OF 100 FEET IMMEDIATELY AFTER CONSTRUCTION.

QUESTION: WHY ISN’T THE QUESTION OF WHETHER THE COMMUNITY WANTS BEACH NOURISHMENT BEING PUT TO A VOTE?

ANSWER: THE QUESTION IS BEING PUT TO THE VOTE OF EVERY PROPERTY OWNER IN THE TOWN OF KITTY HAWK VIA THE MUNICIPAL DISTRICT HEARING PROCESS. PROPERTY OWNERS WILL BE DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING THE TAX AND NEED TO BE FAIRLY REPRESENTED. VOTING VIA REGISTERED VOTING PROCESS WOULD LEAVE OUT MULTIPLE NON-RESIDENT PROPERTY OWNERS.

QUESTION: WHERE ON THE BEACH WILL SAND FILLING START?

ANSWER: GENERALLY EAST OF BEACH FRONT HOMES. THAT MAY MEAN AT THE BASE OF PILINGS FOR SOME EXTREME EXPOSED HOMES.

QUESTION: WHY DID THE COST TO NOURISH KITTY HAWK BEACH RISE SO MUCH HIGHER THAN ORIGINALLY PREDICTED?

ANSWER: THE SLOPE OF KITTY HAWK BEACH IS VERY STEEP WITH LITTLE TO NO NATURAL BERM LEFT IN NUMEROUS AREAS. THAT ALSO MEANS DEEPER WATER TO FILL CLOSE TO THE EXISTING SURF LINE IN ORDER TO GET THE PROJECTED 6 FOOT BERM HEIGHT FURTHER OUT TO SEAWARD. IN ORDER TO GET ANY RESPONSIBLE BENEFITS FROM NOURISHMENT, MORE SAND IS REQUIRED WHICH TRANSLATES TO MORE COST.

QUESTION: WHAT WILL BE MY COMPLETE TAX RATE UNDER EACH PROPOSED MUNICIPAL SERVICE DISTRICT?

ANSWER: THE CURRENT TOWN WIDE TAX RATE IS 32 CENTS PER HUNDRED DOLLARS OF PROPERTY VALUATION. COUNCIL INTENDS TO REMOVE 2 CENTS OF THAT TO REDUCE THE BASE RATE OF 30 CENTS. THIS MEANS THAT MSD A WILL PAY 30 CENTS BASE RATE PLUS 15 CENTS FOR A TOTAL TAX RATE OF 45 CENTS PER HUNDRED DOLLARS PROPERTY VALUATION. MSD B WILL PAY 30 CENTS BASE RATE PLUS 4 CENT FOR A TOTAL TAX RATE OF 34 CENTS PER HUNDRED DOLLARS PROPERTY VALUATION.

At the November 3, 2014 Council meeting, Ken Willson of Coastal Planning and Engineering provided an update of his company’s findings. Please see Mr. Willson’s complete presentation below. Mr. Willson’s presentation covered the following topics.

Sand Source/Borrow Area Mr. Willson stated that the offshore sand borrow areas has been identified, one off the southern end of Kill Devil Hills and an additional small borrow area offshore of Duck. These two areas will be included in the permitting process.

Purposes of Project

Reduce vulnerability of the public infrastructure, NC 12, US Highway 158 and connected roads

Reduce flooding events

Reduce vulnerability of oceanfront homes

Final Project Recommendation

Coastal Planning and Engineering’s final recommendation is a 60ft berm at an elevation of 6ft. with advance fill and sand fencing along the project area. The berm would be placed in front of homes unless the home is already on the wet sand. The proposed project is about 3.58 miles and the fill density is about 95 cubic yards per linear foot to about 100 cubic yard a linear foot on average. The sand would taper on the north end and tie in to the nourishment project in Kill Devil Hills on the south end. The total project cost is estimated to be $23.3 million, an increase of $3 million. The County has agreed to pay for the $3 million increase, not changing the Town wide numbers.

Town Council also set the Public Hearing for Municipal Service Districts for Monday, February 9th, 2015 at 6:00 pm. The hearing will be held at Kitty Hawk Town Hall in the Smith Room.

Mayor Perry and Council also reiterated several facts for property owners:

Estimate for 60ft berm is $23,327,770. The Town cannot afford this on its own so the county is paying the difference, contributing $18,679,573. This leaves the Town with an obligation of $4,648,197.00.

Proposed District A includes all of residential properties on the east side of 158 and the commercial section bordering HWY 158 that benefits most from the beach. District A has a proposed additional tax rate of 15 certs per $100 of assessed valuation.

Proposed District B, which is the rest of Kitty Hawk, has a proposed special tax rate of 4 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

In addition, the Town is currently collecting 2 extra cents, a 32 cents levy, and the extra 2 cents is to assist us in preparation for beach nourishment. That 2 cents would come off if the Municipal Service Districts are approved.

At the Council meeting on October 6, 2014, Council presented and adopted a revised Municipal Service District (MSD) map with two Municipal Service Districts. Four Municipal Service Districts had originally been proposed. See below for proposed service district map with two service districts.

At the July 7th Council meeting, Ken Willson with Coastal Planning and Engineering presented the findings based on his company’s overtopping analysis. The study was conducted to provide specific guidance to the Town and property owners on how to strengthen the existing dune line along the Town’s ocean shoreline in order to mitigate over wash and flooding. The following action items were presented to Council for consideration:

Adding Material/Truck Haul—Bring in sand from an outside source and place sand on seaward side of structures or beneath structures to form a more continuous dune line.

Relocation of Parking Areas—Explore alternative parking strategies to allow for placement of sand and/or sand fencing under structures to create a more continuous dune line.

Raise Driveways/Parking Areas—Raise driveways to follow the contour of the dune line.

Modifications to Public/Emergency Vehicle Beach Access—Installation of timber walkover structures in high traffic areas should be considered in areas where high pedestrian traffic lowers the elevation of the sand and rope off the portions of the accesses provided for vehicles to discourage pedestrian traffic in areas where vehicle access is necessary.

In conclusion, Mr. Willson suggested that if implemented these actions would reduce the frequency and severity of ocean over wash and inland flooding due to coastal storms. Mr. Wilson also presented the following alternatives to the original beach nourishment project proposal that may address storm damage reduction. The original project estimate was based on 1,493,000 cy of sand.

Poseidon and Goosander Area Street Emergency Pumping Facility Project has been completed and the final cost of the project was $68,926 which was the original contract sum.

Coastal Planning and Engineering reports having completed approximately 6.8% of the scope of work as of May 1st. The work includes environmental documentation, beach profile surveys, calibration of the BEACH model in preparation of the vulnerability analysis, the preliminary overtopping analysis, collection of native beach samples and the coordination of off-shore sand search. The highest priority at this time is to complete the preliminary geophysical survey.

Coastal Planning and Engineering has completed 4.4% of their scope of work for the Storm Damage Reduction project. Work to date reflects CP&E’s efforts associated with the environmental documentation, planning for beach profile survey, calibration of the BEACH model in preparation of the vulnerability analysis, the preliminary overtopping analysis and co-ordination of the offshore sand search.

The contractor was given a notice to proceed on April 21st and construction was begun. The work must be completed within 45 days from the notice to proceed. All of the required easements have been obtained and recorded. When finished the Town will have four different places to pump.

Beach Nourishment Easements

Approximately, two-thirds of the preliminary title searches on all of the oceanfront parcels are complete.

Council recommended an award of a Bid for the Poseidon and Goosander Area Street Emergency Pumping Facility to Hatchell Concrete in the amount of $68,926.00.

Coastal Planning & Engineering has completed 2.7% of the scope of work as of March 1, 2014. During the month of February, Coastal Planning & Engineering completed an outline of the environmental documents. During February, CP&E also began what they call the overtopping analysis and began the process of calibrating their model for vulnerability analysis. They continue to coordinate with sub-contractors and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

In March, CP&E completed the calibration of their software and continued the progress towards the offshore sand search. Also CP&E received authorization from the Bureau of Ocean Energy management to conduct the geophysical survey which is needed prior to beginning the sand search. CP&E anticipates the beginning of the geophysical survey shortly after April 8th.

According to the schedule provided by Coastal Planning & Engineering, they are on track with their progress.

Staff presented a tentative schedule for approval of Municipal Service Districts. The proposed schedule is as follows:

August 8, 2014 – The Town would Develop the Draft Information that would need be mailed to property owners

August 18, 2014 – The Town Council would complete its review of the draft Mailing Materials

September 2, 2014 –A Final, up-to-date mailing list is compiled

September 5, 2014 – Public hearing notifications would be sent to property owners, posted on the Town’s website and included in the Manager’s Newsletter.

September 25 – Advertisement for the public hearing would run in the Coastland Times.

October 6, 2014 – Public hearing would be held at regular Town Council meeting and boundaries for Municipal Service Districts would be established.

July 1, 2015 – Adopted boundaries of MSD’s would go into effect.

Council was also informed that a request for bids for the Poseidon and Goosander Street Emergency Pumping facility project was advertised with the bid opening scheduled for March 26th. Once started the project should take about 30 days to complete.

At their meeting on Monday, February 3, Town Council discussed establishing Municipal Service Districts or MSD’s which will be necessary to develop a special tax for each district that could fund the Town’s portion of Beach Nourishment. Council was presented with a proposed map depicting three districts. The preliminary map shown below, shows, District A running from the oceanfront to US 158 and including commercial properties. District B would include what is being called the ridge area and District C is the village to the sound.

It is important to remember that the proposed map is not official and before any Municipal Service District can be set

every property owner must be notified and receive a copy of the map;

a public hearing must be advertised and held

the Council must pass a resolution adopting the map.

In order to accomplish the notification of all property owners, it seems likely that the public hearing will not be scheduled before Fall 2014. After this process is complete and Municipal Service Districts set, they will become effective at the beginning of a fiscal year. Any tax associated with the Municipal Service Districts will be discussed as part of the Town’s budget and would also be levied at the beginning of a fiscal year. Actual construction of any associated project must begin within one year of the Tax levy.

Council approved a service agreement with Coastal Planning & Engineering which will provide engineering, environmental and geotechnical services in support of the beach nourishment project. The amount of the agreement is $619,773.

Council approved a professional services agreement with Albemarle & Associates for Stormwater Management Design Services –This agreement is required for the Poseidon and Goosander Area Street Emergency Pumping Facility. The amount is $8,500.

2013

October 7, 2013 At their regular Council meeting, council approved an Interlocal Agreement for Beach nourishment Funding with Dare County. Based on the terms of this agreement, Dare County would provide up front funding for the design and permitting portion of the nourishment project which totals $1.12 million. The County would also provide $9,430,000 towards the construction of the project and help pay for the Town’s debt service over a five year schedule. The payments on the debt service total $3,037,866 and the debt obligation to the Town would be approximately $4,000,000.

Council also authorized a Financial Advisory Agreement with DEC Associates to provide Financial Consulting service throughout the Nourishment project.

Ken Willson of Coastal Planning and Engineering gave a presentation to Town Council that provided an overview of the Beach Management Concept Assessment. The plan’s concept is to reset the baseline of the beach shoreline by borrowing sand from the ocean floor and pumping it onto the beach. This would widen the beach and reduce the effects of storm erosion, reduce overwash and flooding and provide for better storm drainage. The initial phase of the project would involve design and permitting which would cost between $550,000 and $1.12 million dollars. Because there are several factors that are yet to be determined the cost of the entire project is estimated to be between 15 million and 32 million dollars. Since Kill Devil Hills and Duck are undertaking similar projects, it has been suggested that there would be considerable cost savings if all locales worked together. If the project moves forward, it is likely that the beach nourishment part of the project would begin in the Spring/Summer of 2016.

The Town is now working with Dare County and the other localities to explore financing options and the feasibility of undertaking such a project.

Council also approved a Bid for the Hawks Street Stormwater Management system and approved a budget amendment to fund the construction. The purpose of the system is to collect storm water from an over wash into a collection sump basin and pipe the storm water to a pump connection assembly on the East side of the Highway 12. This will allow the Town Public Works Department to begin pumping storm water back in to the ocean as soon as a storm subsides and the pumping station is safely accessible. Construction on this emergency pumping facility will be complete by October.

Following a presentation on the Ocean Outfall Reasibility Study by John Delucia of Albemarle and Associates, the council decided to install a stand pipe system at Hawks Street and to pursue an outfall at Kitty Hawk Road with the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

FY 12-13 Budget Amendment #4 that establishes a Storm Damage Reduction (Beach Nourishment) Project Fund increasing the overall budget by $22,454. The funds will be used to pay for an agreement with Coastal Planning & Engineering to conduct a beach management conceptual assessment.

The Council also reviewed a Municipal Service District Map for Storm Damage Reduction (beach erosion control and flood and hurricane protection works.) This proposed map designated two districts. District A which included BC-1, BC-2, BC-3, PCD, BH-1, BH-2, BR-1 and BR-3 encompassing the oceanfront properties, the properties between the highways and the commercial properties just south and west of US 158. District B included residential areas that are close enough to the beach to benefit from the beach.

WHAT IS THE TOWN OF KITTY HAWK DOING ABOUT Reducing PROPERTY DAMAGE During Storm and Flooding Events?

In response to a consistent number of recent emails and inquiries pertaining to the erosion of the beaches in Kitty Hawk, it is important to share that Town Council is considering several options which include Storm Damage Reduction, (storm damage reduction is consistent with the state and federal terminology for beach nourishment) and a flood water collection system.

There has been much discussion in the past on how to handle storm damage and several studies as to how to control the reduction of sandy beaches. As many people are aware Nags Head has completed a storm damage reduction project utilizing County and Town funding to achieve the amounts needed to fund their project. Kill Devil hills is in the process of working with a consultant to determine what possibilities they have to fund a storm damage reduction project, but as of yet have not established a time table to proceed with a project. The Town of Duck is also looking at ways in which they can fund and implement a storm damage reduction project.

What is Kitty Hawk doing to explore storm damage reduction?

At the December 3, 2012 Town Council meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Perry reported to the Council that any and all funding related to storm damage reduction with the County include discussion from the Town as to our interest in also obtaining funding for storm damage reduction. The Town has also requested that the County include Kitty Hawk in any future request for federal funding for storm damage reduction projects. The Town staff and the Town Council will also continue to promote the passage of an additional Occupancy Tax and possible Sales Tax to provide the funding needed for storm damage reduction.

On the local level what can we do to provide funding for storm damage reduction?

The cost of the project is beyond the scope of what the Town can do on its own and will require additional funding from other sources. Kitty Hawk, as well as the other Towns, are looking at what is called special tax districts. The idea behind the special tax district is to determine what property owners are most impacted by the overwash and flooding from the storm events. In Kitty Hawk’s case, it is obvious that the properties that are oceanfront and the properties between the highways are the most affected. The Town staff will be working to determine how much revenue can be generated by the special tax districts in the future. From a preliminary stand point it appears that revenue from the special tax districts would be used to fund any engineering and permitting study that would be required in order to promote and apply for any County, State, or Federal funding.

What else has the Town done to handle the overwash and flooding?

The Town is in a position to implement other infrastructure improvements that will help reduce the flooding from any overwash. In February of 2012, a Stormwater Management Plan was completed which proposes the construction of a floodwater collection system that would allow the Public Works Department to begin pumping as soon as a storm has passed. The Town has applied for funding from the Clean Water Management Grant Fund to implement the proposed collection system and may be able to fund some of the improvements through the use of Powell Bill Funds. A proposal is in the budget for the next fiscal year to begin funding the floodwater collection system.

The floodwater collection system that is proposed will also require a change in the permitting philosophy of the DCDENR Division of Coastal Management. The Town’s consultant, Albemarle & Associates has applied for the permits that will allow the Town to proceed with the project. The permits that Albemarle & Associates have applied for will allow the Town to pump the floodwaters as soon as the storm event passes. The permits will be a continuous permit and not based on the need after each flooding event, as the current process dictates.

In addition, the Town Manager and the Mayor Pro Tem Perry recently attended a meeting in the County at which Governor McCrory was asked by the Mayor Pro Tem Perry for assistance in the regulatory relief to allow installation of outfalls for use in emergency flooding situations. Per the Governor’s direction, the Town has provided information to the Governor as to why the outfalls have not been allowed in the past and how the outfalls would help Kitty Hawk in its efforts to take care of the overwash and flooding. The Town staff will keep the Council and public informed of any further information from the Governor’s office in this regard.

How can I as an individual help to promote any action on the part of the Town Council in regards to reducing storm damage or flooding?

The best way to help in the endeavor is to stay informed by viewing or attending the Council meetings, subscribing to the Town Manager’s newsletter, and continue to provide feedback to the Town Council, Dare County Board of Commissioners, and our State Representatives. You can email us at info@kittyhawktown.net or telephone Town Hall at 252-261-3552 to obtain addresses and phone numbers of whom to contact. Our web site is www.kittyhawknc.gov.

2012

At the December 3, 2012 Town Council meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Perry reported to the Council that any and all funding related to storm damage reduction with the County include discussion from the Town as to the Town’s interest in also obtaining funding for storm damage reduction. The Town also requested that the County include Kitty Hawk in any future request for federal funding for storm damage reduction projects. The Town staff and the Town Council agree to continue to promote the passage of an additional Occupancy Tax and possible Sales Tax to provide the funding needed for storm damage reduction.